Unified Interior Regions
Sprague River Basin, Oregon
Region 9: Columbia-Pacific Northwest
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
Sagebrush Mineral Resource Assessment
The USGS Mineral Resources Program completed a comprehensive assessment and inventory of potential mineral resources covering approximately10 million acres of federal and adjacent lands in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Montana.
Webinar: A Framework for Evaluating the Vulnerability of Multiple Wildlife Species to Climate Change at Regional Scales
View this webinar to learn how scientists are examining the vulnerability of fish, amphibians, and reptiles in Oregon to climate change.
Water Management Studies
As the need for incorporating biological objectives into water management decisions has grown, so has the need for methods and metrics to incorporate predictions of relevant biological responses into an increasingly complex decision environment that attempts to balance multiple uses.
Potential Toxicity of Multiple Metals Associated with PGE Deposits
Water quality and aquatic life standards that are set by Federal and state regulatory agencies are used to evaluate the quality of our nation’s water and the health of aquatic ecosystems. These standards currently are based on hardness of the water and are determined for single metals, not for mixtures of metals that are typically found in natural systems. Metal mixtures can potentially be...
HDgov: Multi-agency Website for Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
HDgov is an interactive and mobile-responsive online portal to interagency, academic, and non-government resources focused on the human dimensions of natural resource management. The web portal provides easy access to tools, publications, data, and methods that help ensure that the people side of natural resources is considered throughout the entire natural resource management process. The...
National Park Service Visitor Spending Effects
The National Park Service (NPS) manages the Nation’s most iconic destinations that attract millions of visitors from across the Nation and around the world. Trip-related spending by NPS visitors generates and supports a considerable amount of economic activity within park gateway communities. USGS economists collaborate with the National Park Service social science program to estimate NPS...
Using Quantile Regression to Investigate Ecological Limiting Factors
Unexplained heterogeneity in statistical models of animal responses to their physical environment is reasonable to expect because the measured habitat resources are a constraint on—but not the sole determinant of—abundance, survival, fecundity, or fitness. The ecological understanding and reliability of management predictions based on animal habitat models can be improved by shifting focus ...
North American Waterfowl Management Plan
The ultimate success of North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) depends on maintaining relevance to stakeholders and society. In order to be relevant, a first step is to better understand what people value in regard to waterfowl and their habitats.
Quantitative and Statistical Research Collaboration
Mathematical and statistical models are powerful research tools that play several important roles in conceptualizing and understanding the structure and dynamics of complicated ecological systems, including developing mechanistic hypotheses pertaining to ecological systems, designing studies that elucidate ecosystem structure and function, and extracting information from data.
Histopathology of Selected Parasitic Salmonid Diseases: A Color Atlas
A collection of 77 photomicrographs compiled by the late William T. Yasutake, USGS Western Fisheries Research Center, Scientist Emeritus. Individual plates may be downloaded below.
Economic Impacts of Ecological Restoration
Federal investments in ecosystem restoration projects protect Federal trusts, ensure public health and safety, and preserve and enhance essential ecosystem services. These investments also generate business activity and create jobs. However, limited information exists on the costs and associated economic impacts of ecosystem restoration projects due to the complexity of the “restoration...
Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative: Rocky Mountain Region
The Rocky Mountain Region of Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) encompasses Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Two USGS Science Centers initiate and develop ARMI projects in this region. Investigations at NOROCK are headed by Dr. Blake Hossack. Investigations at the Fort Collins Science Center (FORT), Colorado, are headed by Dr. Erin Muths. The ARMI program is based...
Topography data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2015
This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in July 2015. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.
Topography data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2016
This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in July 2016. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.
Bullet fragments in Belding's ground squirrels in Oregon and California in 2014-2015
The dataset includes specifics on fragments of bullets recovered from shot Belding's ground squirrels from Oregon and California. Ground squirrels were radiographed and then we used ImageJ software to count and measure the area of those bullet fragments.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2015, collected from personal watercraft
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in July 2015 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2016, collected from kayak
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in July 2016 using a kayak. The kayak was equipped with a single-beam echosounder and a survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, January 2015, collected from kayak
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in January 2015 using a kayak. The kayak was equipped with a single-beam echosounder and a survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, February 2016, collected from kayak
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in February 2016 using a kayak. The kayak was equipped with a single-beam echosounder and a survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, January 2015, collected from personal watercraft
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in January 2015 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2016, collected from personal watercraft
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in July 2016 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, September 2014, collected from personal watercraft
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in September 2014 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.
Topography data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, January 2015
This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in January 2015. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.
Topography data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, September 2014
This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in September 2014. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.
H1 East Transect – February 2017
Permanent Site: H1 East Transect; Depth: 5.8 Meters (19.1 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 2.4 Kilometers (1.5 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 6 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.1479177,-123.53472865; Site Description: This is a shallow site and one of the farthest removed from the effects of the sediment plume outside of the control sites. Substrate remains mainly
Plot 347, point 6, Morley Nelson Snake River NCA
Cover photo for Shinneman, D.J., Welty, J.L., Arkle, R.S., Pilliod, D.S., Glenn, N.F., McIlroy, S.K., Halford, A.S., 2018, Fuels guide and database for intact and invaded big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecological sites—User manual: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Report 1048, p. 9, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1048
Crossing the Idaho-Oregon border in winter
This remote area along the southern Idaho-Oregon border was affected by the 2015 Soda Fire, which burned nearly 400 square miles of sagebrush habitat important to many species of wildlife, as well as federal and private ranchlands. The USGS, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, is leading a first of its kind study on the efficacy of certain post-fire
...Clearing snow from solar panels
Clearing snow from solar panels which provide power to an instream Passive Integrated Transponder tag detection system in the Wind River, WA. The system detects tagged juvenile and adult Steelhead for population assessment and migratory data.
Pyrite and Quartz
A sample of pyrite and quartz. Iron pyrite, also known as Fool's Gold due to its resemblance to gold, often occurs in quartz veins. Pyrite is an important source of sulfur dioxide, which is primarily used to create sulfuric acid, an important industrial acid. In fact, consumption of sulfuric acid has been regarded as one of the best indexes of a nation's industrial
...Scientists doing field work at Elwha River
Researchers survey Elwha River elevation and depths. Clockwise from upper left: setting up a traditional survey instrument above the river; measuring river depths from a kayak with sonar and GPS; walking the beach with GPS backpacks; and determining offshore depths using a personal watercraft with GPS and sonar.
Caddisflies in an Artificial Stream
Sometimes the whole is actually *less* than the sum of its parts. In this case, it turns out that cadmium and zinc, when combined in ratios like you'd see in the environment, they are actually less toxic to aquatic insects than adding up their individual toxicities. Read more:
GeoGirls learn about the eruption of Mount St. Helens
GeoGirls learn about how the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens impacted the ecology of the area.
GeoGirls hike onto the Pumice Plain and learn about Mount St. Helens
GeoGirls hike onto the Pumice Plain to learn more about Mount St. Helens’ historical
eruptions.
Geogirls use computers in the field to track locations
Geogirls use computers in the field to track locations and annotate field photos.
Equipment used during surveys in Columbia River littoral cell
Photographs showing equipment used during bathymetric and topographic surveys along the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon.
Interpreted model of seismic wave speeds at Mount St. Helens with p...
Graphic shows an east to west cut-away of Mount St. Helens with an interpreted model of seismic wave speeds under the volcano and earthquakes from 2008-2016. The colors of the model represent changes in seismic p-wave velocities from tomographic studies (Waite and Moran, 2009; doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.02.009). Cooler colors represent faster regions; redder colors are
...Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s Northwest Climate Science Center is awarding nearly $1.3 million to universities and other partners for research to assist Native Americans and federal and state land managers plan for and adapt to climate change.
A new assessment of shoreline change along the Pacific Northwest coast from the late 1800s to present found that while the majority of beaches are stable or slightly accreting (adding sand), many Oregon beaches have experienced an increase in erosion hazards in recent decades.
Officials from South America are helping to save lives in communities around Cascade Range volcanoes by sharing their expertise in a bi-national exchange that brings Colombian emergency managers and scientists to the Pacific Northwest, following a recent visit to Colombia by U.S. counterparts.
Officials from South America are helping to save lives in communities around Cascade Range volcanoes by sharing their expertise in a bi-national exchange that brings Colombian emergency managers and scientists to the Pacific Northwest, following a recent visit to Colombia by U.S. counterparts.
A new computer model of the Chimacum Creek Basin built to simulate “what-if” scenarios for basin groundwater managers indicates that most of the water recharging the groundwater system flows directly out to marine waters and coastal areas, according to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey.
A new study released today details the migratory habits of a native and threatened population of bull trout in Arrowrock Reservoir, a critical source of irrigation water for southwestern Idaho.
TACOMA, Wash. — Scientists have sorted out and mapped the aquifers in the Little Spokane River Basin, giving the first detailed picture of the groundwater system, according to a report published by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Spokane County.
Tasul, an Oregon Zoo polar bear, recently landed her first white-collar job: research assistant for the U.S. Geological Survey. Her assignment: wearing a high-tech collar to help solve a climate change mystery.
Researchers at the University of Idaho and the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a way to identify New Zealand mudsnail infestations in their earliest stages – using only the small bits of DNA the snails shed in the water.
The spread of a highly virulent fish virus in four separate coastal Washington watersheds from 2007-2011 has been described in a new research paper by the U.S. Geological Survey. The most probable source of the virus was identified as steelhead trout originating from the Columbia River Basin.
USGS scientists took high-tech sensors typically found in devices such as smart phones and embedded them into a new method to monitor riverbed movements that can help protect spawning habitat for endangered salmon. Developed in cooperation with Seattle Public Utilities for the Cedar River, the new method is published in the Journal of Hydrology.
North America's largest vulture, the California condor, once graced the skies of the Pacific Northwest from northern California to British Columbia and was deeply woven into the fabric of many Native American cultures. A new book by two federal scientists documents the condors history in the region, from prehistoric times to the early 20th century.